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5 Ways Parents Can Encourage a Positive Sibling Relationship

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One of the most challenging parts of parenthood is trying to find a way to encourage a positive sibling relationship. Siblings have a relationship unlike any other in this world. Often times siblings can get along great one moment and be arguing incessantly the next. There is no rhyme or reason to why siblings can have such a fragile yet loving bond from a young age. It’s simply how sibling relationships go. As a parent you can work to encourage a positive sibling relationship when you try the following tips.

5 Ways Parents Can Encourage Positive Sibling Relationship

Age Appropriate Board Games

Having siblings play board games together is an easy way to keep them away from having too much electronic time and encourage the socialization between siblings. Find some board games that each sibling actually enjoys. Take turns each day having the siblings play a board game that each likes and watch as they work together to communicate a strategic plan or compete on who will win. Sure some board games are competitive in nature, but even then it’s a healthy form of competition that can create a sportsmanship like attitude. This sportsmanship attitude will help encourage a positive sibling bond in no time.

Look at old Photos of the Siblings

Pull out the photo albums or a digital album if you no longer have the old school photo albums in your home. Have the siblings look at photos of the past. Often times we have a collection of photographs that showcase a positive sibling bond. Perhaps your children are starting to bicker more often and need this gentle reminder that once upon a time they were best of friends. Having siblings look at the past when they had good times together will help rekindle that positive bond and perhaps allow their bond to be more positive.

Practice Positive Parenting Techniques

It will be vitally important that you practice some positive parenting techniques yourself. Positive parenting techniques focus more on reinforcing positive behavior versus punishing negative behavior. Having a positive parent is the most important step in encouraging a positive sibling bond. The children will copy what their parents are doing. Take time to listen to your children, perhaps they are arguing a lot because you have been yelling more frequently or punishing too often versus focusing on positive reinforcement tactics. Often times siblings will speak to each other in a way that they hear the parents speak to them.

Build Self Esteem and Pride

Often times siblings are jealous of each other. You see this comes into play whether you have two or seven children; it’s simply part of being a sibling. Learn to build the self-esteem and pride of each sibling. Focus on strengths, accomplishments and try to set the day up to be one in which each can work on things that they are good at. Surely they need to work on their weaknesses too, but do so in a way that leads them to feeling a sense of pride. When you work to build your children’s self-esteem and pride, they are a happier individual which leads to a positive sibling bond.

Teach Communication Skills

Last, but not least, it’s important for siblings to learn how to communicate their issues. Having a sibling is the first real relationship a child will have and in turn, they must learn proper skills to keep that bond a positive one. Siblings need proper communication skills in order to work through disagreements and problems throughout the day. Practice communication skills by having your children sit down to speak one at a time to each other when an argument arises. Let each child express their feelings and thoughts one at a time, then guide them forward in discussing how each other feels and work towards a solution together.

There you have it, 5 ways parents can encourage a sibling bond. You can easily see that the best way parents are able to encourage such a positive sibling bond is to be the proper example of positivity, teach good communication skills and take trips down memory lane on a regular basis. If you practice each of these tips you will surely find that the children are starting to form a positive sibling bond again.